Startups Branding Strategy

A startup's product and value proposition are important. But as the company grows, branding becomes even more important as the company's value proposition which will just be familiar to co-workers, investors and maybe a few customers need to be recognised by others who have not yet purchased the product. Promotion, advertisement, marketing mix and other marketing activities can certainly play a role in converting these people into customers. If the startup is pursuing a unique value proposition, a robust branding strategy can turn the tables in the way the company is being perceived.

The aim should be to develop and leverage the content marketing strategy to cultivate a thought leadership position in an area essential to the brand. To reach this position, the inefficiencies of the current system needs to be discussed and the efficiency of the solution and the quality that sets the product apart needs to be highlighted. In its most basic form, a brand consists of the following six parts.

Story- What do the customers need and how do you provide it?
Promise- How does your product enable your customer?
Name, look and feel- What are the images and words associated with the startup?
Value- What values do customers and investors see in the product?
Relevance- Are you providing something relevant?
Innovation- How unique is your product?

Following are some ways are some of the strategies to enhance branding and marketing techniques.

Company Name

A simple component like the company name will impact the brand. The company name needs to be given due consideration as well as the consumer's reaction to it as this would impact the marketing and branding initiatives. Building a brand name around a made-up word is more time consuming and expensive than naming a business around the product as the consumer would need time to get used to it. However, once the brand is established, it can be more impactful in the long term as the name could become the default lingo for the industry.

Logo

Logos are usually the most recognizable representation of a company or organisation. It is the first visual a consumer gets about the company. The logo is to visually represent the business and tell the right story for the brand message. Even though they’re often just small images, logos carry a whole lot of meaning–and designing one comes with a whole lot of responsibility. Since the average consumer, today has access to a lot of information, logos also have to quickly and effectively communicate on behalf of their brand.

Marketing

The target demographics and the means you use to market with will directly impact brand position. Perception of the brand matters a lot and prices of the products/ services need to reflect it. Careful consideration to whom and how the business is marketed along with pricing and the location of distribution needs to be given as all these would impact the brand. Marketing graphics play a huge role in branding. Like the logo, the graphics that follow every post/ service rendered needs to reflect the values of the company and the way in which it is moving forward.

Communications

How is the business described on the 'Profile' page of the website? What are press releases revealing about the company? What about media information on the company? Which outlets are broadcasting the story? These communications which involve direct/indirect interaction with potential clients impact brand positioning. Hence, the pitch needs to be firmly crafted and media broadcasting the right story both in terms of desired placements and messaging.

Customer Service

A good service is one that backs up the claims of the marketing efforts. If the customer service does not support it, the brand is virtually dead. The operations team needs to know the impact their actions have on building the brand in the long term. Customer satisfaction goes a long way in establishing the brand in the market.

Social Media Reputation

Consumers have more power than ever in this social media-driven society wherein they can communicate their likes and dislikes of products and services via Facebook, Twitter and other networks. Constant monitoring of reviews is essential so that mistakes can be owned upto and addressed accordingly. Gaining long term loyalty will involve tackling issues head-on in a quick ad user-friendly way so that the brand positing is reinforced.

Company Registration

OPC Registration